Manchester United to sign Nicolás Gaitán from Benfica

Nicolás Gaitán, 23, playing for Benfica

   Sir Alex Ferguson is looking to strengthen his midfield with the Argentine Gaitán who currently plays for Benfica. Manchester United has struck up an informal agreement with the Portuguese team to sign the attacking midfielder for around £29.3 million (aprox $38 million) at the end of the season during the summer transfer window.

   Gaitán was gaining interest from other major clubs such as Inter Milan and PSG, but the prolific Premier League champions seem to have seduce the talent of another football great who has been compared to Merengue staple Angel Di Maria. United is also looking at Benfica teammate Javi Garcia but it is unclear is further action will be pursued.

Here are some highlights of the Manchester United soon to be new signing:

Pissed at the FA

So I took a couple videos of the Manchester United vs. Arsenal game. Sadly Arsenal lost a well contested game, but Chicharito was involved in both scoring transactions so I was happy with the result. VDS also made some top notch saves to keep Arsenal out of the name.

Anyway I'm not really mad just disgruntled that YouTube/The FA claimed a copyright on the next two videos. The reason? Now I can not enable them for revenue sharing which is a total bummer because anything that Chicharito is involved in gets a ton of views. I took them with my phone and they're off of Fox Soccer Channel.

Also I have a question for you guys. If I would have made a few comments/analysis on the video, would this have fallen under "educational purpose"; therefore allowing me to use copyrighted material? If anyone can answer this please leave a comment with an answer for me.

Here are the two goals/videos:

Fabio scores after ball deflects from Arsenal keeper after Chicharito heads the ball on goal. The play was set up by the twins Rafael and Fabio with Rooney setting up the key pass to Chicharito.




Wayne Rooney scores after ball centered in by Rafael to Chicharito bounces back for Rooney's easy goal.

The Fall of Troy

This a live video that I took of "Laces Out, Dan!" by The Fall of Troy with their original line-up in Salt Lake City on June 29, 2007. The video quality is so-so due to the fact that I was standing at the rail right in front of Tim Ward's bass amp.

I forgot that I had this video while I was looking through my YouTube account and thought that I would share some exemplary musicianship. Unfortunately, the trio is no longer together. They broke up early last year, but they'll keep playing on my iTunes for many years to come. They've been a favorite of mine for the past seven years although I don't listen to them as much anymore. Thomas Erak is the lead/only guitarist and singer at the same time. He writes extremely technical and creative riffs. The song starts at about the two minute mark.



If you have ever played Guitar Hero you might have heard this song as well:

F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X.



Also be sure not to miss the 6th Round FA Cup match-up between the Premier League top runners Arsenal and Manchester United on Fox Soccer Channel at 12:00 PM ET.

Review: A Complete History of My Sexual Failures

This movie was on the Independent Film Channel late at night couple weeks ago. The title is very straight forward. It's an autobiographic Sundance film from 2008 about a British guy named Chris Waitt. Throughout the movie he attempts to call up all his old girlfriends and tries to find out what went wrong in their relationships. He asks them a series of awkward questions such as how he could become a better person especially while in a relationship.

This dude looks like a depressed mopey slacker. I don't how he actually got all these women to sleep with him especially because he suffers from ED. One of the funniest/strangest parts of the movie is when he takes an insane about of Viagra leaving him with an erection that lasts all day. He then proceeds to go out onto a busy street and ask every female he comes across if they would like to bone. One lady actually accepts his offer. Well not really, but she does give him her phone number and they later go on a date but fail to do the deed due to his problem.

This movie was unexpectedly hilarious and very easy to relate to especially if you've ever been in a bad relationship. The style is more that of a mockumentary as he embarrasses himself and highlights his faults throughout the entire film. One girlfriend admits that she started dating on Asian men after the break up. This movie is not worth buying, but I would recommend watching it if you ever get the chance to rent/download/borrow/stream it.

Here is the trailer for the film:

Arsenal vs. Barcelona

Van Persie exclaims that he could not hear the
whistle over the noise at Nou Camp

Today's second leg match between Arsenal and Barcelona was quite eventful. Arsenal came into Camp Nou with a 2-1 advantage on the aggregate score from the game before in London. Arsenal received what would seem as a crushing blow at the start of the when their goalkeeper Szczęsny left the field with a hand injury. Their backup Almunia, who only had a few FA Cup starts, stepped up and served the team well. He made a total of 8 saves from over 10 shots on goal from the opposing team.


Jack Wilshere made a grand effort for his side, the 19 year old strongly challenged and won the ball on many occasions against the some of today's greatest players such as Messi for example. He even confronted and got in Dani Alves' face after he was tackled at one point in the game. He's a very passionate player. This kid is already keeping up with the best of them and even has a few Senior England National Team caps. He did a good job distributing the ball down the sidelines especially to Nasri.


However Pep Guardiola doesn't think he's anything special.

"Wilshere is a top player, he is an excellent player, not just Arsenal, but also for the national team. 

[But] he is lucky because we have many players in the second team like him but he plays because there is no pressure at his club to win titles."

Arsenal was without Theo Walcott, however Barcelona was also without key defender Carles Puyol. Both sides held their ground until things took a turn for the worst for the Gunners. Barcelona got on top with a goal by Messi at the end of the first half. Then Sergio Busquets evened it up scoring for his opponent from a corner kick by way of an accidental header. Van Persie later received a yellow card in the 55th; consequently sent off the field since it was his second of the match. He was very undeserving of the red card he received for shooting the ball towards goal one second after the referee blew the whistle for the offsides call against him. Yes, ONE SECOND. He was in no way trying to run the clock. I believe he genuinely could not hear the ball over the thousands of screaming fans at the Nou Camp. He's what he had to say about the referee's call:

“It was a total joke, the sending off, because how can I hear his whistle with 95,000 people jumping up? How can I hear that, for God’s sake? Please explain me that.”

And Arsene Wegner's opinion:

“I think two kinds of people can be unhappy: those who love Arsenal and those who love football can be frustrated with the referee’s decisions. When he made the decision it was a very promising game, very interesting. That’s the regret.”

“People who have played football will never accept a decision like that. It killed a promising, fantastic football match. What for?” 

Here is the red card decision. I decided to record it myself to show how upsetting it was. Though the whistle can be heard on this play, I can distinctly remember not hearing the whistle on a few other plays. See for yourself, what do you think of this garbage play call?




Barcelona no doubt controlled the game, in fact Arsenal did not have one shot on target. The Gunners played them hard but they lost the possession game (68 to 32 percent) to their opponent as well as a key player halfway through the game. It was a sad day for Arsenal fans. Barcelona went on to win 3-1 with a beautiful through ball to Xavi Hernandez  and with a penalty again by Messi leaving the aggregate at 4-3 for them. First the FA cup, now the Champions League, there's only one hope left for the Gunners, the Premier League to salvage their trophy drought.


Watch the full highlights below. The goals go as follows: Messi (45' + 3'), Sergio Busquets (53' OG), Xavi Hernandez (69'), and Messi (71' PEN).



UPDATE 3/10/11: I apologize for the music on that video. It's not mine and the original video was taken down.

I was out of my element.

Yesterday I got up to watch the Manchester United vs. Liverpool game on DVR. There was no way I was getting up that early to watch it live. I was pretty stoked since a bunch of big names were playing. Andy Carrol was making his debut for Liverpool and Suarez was in beast mode during the match. My boy Chicharo scored with a header, again. He's always in the right space and makes it look so easy. However what ruined the game for me was talking to my father first thing in the morning. He didn't know that the game was played that just hours before and thought it was earlier in the week. He went on to ask me what I thought of the 3-1 Liverpool victory and what it meant for MANU's season. I thanked for telling me the score to the game I was about to watch and said that it's not big deal since they have a few insurance points in the table. My level of stokedness was dramatically lowered. I would assume the disappointment is comparable to to a 6 year old girl finding out that the dog dies in Marley and Me at the end of the movie albeit the tears. I was no longer excited to watch the game knowing the scoreline. The DVR was in FF x2 mode for most of the game. From now on, whenever there a big match or any sporting event that I want to watch I will to try my hardest to DO IT LIVE.

Last night I also made a rookie mistake. After looking through all the wonderful comments left on my blog and making sure there was no spam I proceeded to delete all of them. This was not my intention of course. I thought clearing the comment portion of my Dashboard would be an easier way to see if I had received new comments. Man, was I wrong. After deleting the 30+ comments I thought it would be a wise choice to turn comment moderation on that way I know when new comments are posted. So feel free to leave a comment again on the previous posts.

This morning after playing a few online matches of FIFA I remembered why I missed FIFA 04 so much. You would think it was because I was 13 and debt-free; however it was the Radiohead song that played all the time. I don't know how to describe the part in the song that I like so much but I believe it sounds similar to someone constantly making farting noises with their lips but a little more mature. Even though this Youtube video does not give it justice because it can't hit the low parts of the song, take a listen to Myxomatosis, nostalgia awaits.

Fancy Footwork

I've been listening to this song at least 3+ times a week for the past while now. This is the Crookers remix of Chromeo's "Fancy Footwork". This song is best experienced while under the influence before listening. Also it helps if you turn your woofer on. Plus these guys have been on Yo Gabba Gabba so they're legit. Cool tricks.

Chicharito is just getting started

Chicharito makes at excellent impression at Old Trafford

Around this time last year I remember being rather obsessed with World Cup rosters. It had its ups and downs. There were big names that did not make the call for various reasons such as Ronaldinho with a "fitness" issue, David Beckham with the achilles injury and Charlie Davies with the horrible car crash that could have left him paralyzed just to name a few. However the roster that really caught my eye was that of Mexico's.

The Mexican national team had likes of Carlos Vela, an up-and-coming striker from Arsenal and Giovani Dos Santos, a Tottenham attacking mid-fielder and a product of  Barcelona's youth academy. These two already had World Cup experience winning the 2005 U-17 World Championship. However there was more to add, Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez was designated to play on that winning team however an injury left him watching from the stands shortly before the tournament. This didn't stop Chicharito from later securing his spot with his fellow team mates for the 2010 World Cup.

Chicharito played his heart out in the friendlies leading up to the tournament. He always had a strong desire for putting the ball in the back of the net and made sure to get opportunities to do just that by zipping into spaces to receive it. I remember one goal in particular in a friendly against New Zealand in which Hernandez seemed as if he had jumped on a trainer trampoline to reach the ball for the header into the net. I was amazed by his incredible hops and fluid natural ability to head the ball. This goal also caught the eye of those who regularly watch the beautiful game in comparing the header to the slam dunk of an NBA player.

At that point is when I knew Hernandez had arrived, he is the future of Mexican football. However little did I know he would also become a staple for the best know club in the world at Old Trafford. I remember watching the coverage of the signing on ESPN Deportes feeling thrilled, shocked, estactic, and just damn happy that this unknown player out of nowhere (Club Deportivo Guadalajara) signed with the super club that is Manchester United. This man is humble, he brought his entire family with him to Manchester. He's well spoken giving interviews in his second language fluently and does not let the sensation of being world class athlete get to his head.

Chicharito has the potential to become the next Hugo Sanchez given there's no major injury stumbles. He's also the future of the EPL unless a club such as Real Madrid puts up an offer he can't refuse, but I see that as unlikely. Sir Alex made a fine decision in picking up this natural talent before he came to the stardom of today.

Arsenal Puts on Clinic; Bendter Hat-Trick

Yesterday's match between Arsenal and Leyton Orient was very different from that of last week's one all draw. Watch as the Gunners put on a clinic for Leyton scoring five goals to none at Brisbane Road in the Fifth Round replay match for the FA Cup on 2 March 2011. Three of those goals came from Niklas Bendter who hasn't seen much action this season for the first-team squad. I suppose this hat-trick justifies his £50,000-a-week salary. The other two goals came from Chamakh early in the first half and Clichy to close it off at the end of the game.

WATCH: